Studio Brief 1 - Wayfinding - Defining Wayfinding and Supergraphics

Wayfinding and Supergraphics 

Wayfinding definition

-        The act of finding one’s way to a particular place – a form of navigation

-        Signs, maps and other graphic or audible methods used to convey location and direction to viewers (Coined by the architect Kevin Lynch in 1960)

-        Wayfinding can be defined as spatial problem solving. It is knowing where you are in a building or an environment, knowing where your desired location is, and knowing how to get there from your present location

What is wayfinding?

Wayfinding is information systems that guides people through a physical environment. They are supposed to enhance the understanding and experience of the space. They are particularly important in in complex environments such as hospitals, universities and shopping centres. Wayfinding combines signage, maps, symbols and colours. It has also evolved to include mobile apps and digital displays.

Architectural environments are usually very complicated so visual cues are needed to direct the user. In high stress environments, such as airports, wayfinding needs to create a sense of wellbeing, safety and security.

In an urban setting, signage and information systems help pedestrians and motorists navigate around each other. Wayfinding in these cases help to create mental maps for people by simplifying the landscape.

In healthcare, the buildings are developed over a long period of time, usually with multiple buildings making them very complex to navigate. They are very stressful places for users so signage has to have legible directions and be easy to follow. Text should be minimised and these systems usually heavily use colours and symbols.

In transport settings, such as airports, the user must be guided even before they reach the airport. Signs direct users from the road to the airport and then through the terminal buildings. Directional guidance is created in a specific sequence, with information given to the user at specific points in their journey.

Define supergraphics

-        Large scale painted or applied decorative art in bold colours and typically in geometric or typographic designs, use over walls, floors and ceilings to create an illusion of expanded or altered space

-        very large, usually brightly coloured, graphic images of simple design

-        Large scale graphic design applied to the interior or exterior of a building, typically using bold colours, geometric shapes and typographic elements. The earliest use was in the 1960s in progressive architecture

Places where wayfinding is used:

-        City centre maps

-        Shopping centres

-        Art galleries

-        Parks

-        Hospitals

-        Airports

-        Train stations

-        Tower blocks

-        Library